Madi Bolanos
Laura Cruz, 52, pulls out the salsa from her fridge in her home in Kern County. She’s preparing lunch for her 12-year-old daughter, who will be arriving home from summer school.
Cruz is undocumented. When she first arrived in Bakersfield from Mexico in 2003, she cleaned houses and took care of the children of farmworkers in her neighborhood.
Seven years later, doctors diagnosed her with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the body s organs. Because of her diagnosis and documentation status, Cruz says it’s been hard for her to find work, making her husband the sole provider for their family.